It’s a long way from Robert Charlebois to Dead Obies. But both the iconic boomer rockeur and the hip-hop group of twentysomethings renowned for their franglais poetry will be part of the vedette-studded line-up of Bonne Fête Montréal, a show at the Bell Centre next Wednesday that’s part of the city’s 375th birthday celebrations.

At the press event Wednesday afternoon to promote the event, there was a funny moment that underlined the generation gap between the two artists. Charlebois was leading a group of the participating artists in a sing-along of his classic Je reviendrai à Montréal, which he’ll be performing at the concert. When they stopped singing, the show’s director Serge Denoncourt jokingly scolded the guys from the Dead Obies for not singing, suggesting they clearly weren’t familiar with a classic old song like the vintage Charlebois hit.

Later, Yes McCan (real name Jean-François Ruel) from Dead Obies said they were honoured to share a stage with Charlebois.

“It’s great, we’re going to play the Centre Bell with Robert Charlebois,” said McCan. “He’s accomplished great things. For us, we feel like we represent something that they want there. We’ll bring thousands of kids and I think they called us because they know that. We are Montreal.”

Robert Charlebois, seen in 2011, has been a musical force in the francophone world for more than 50 years.Dario Ayala /
Montreal Gazette files

Though the Dead Obies rapper does have some reservations about the event.

“It’s a colonial commemoration,” said McCan. “It’s the anniversary of the city as we know it, with the European influence. But there were some people here before that. Montreal is older than that and I hope that these (aboriginal) people are going to get recognized in that whole celebration. We shouldn’t forget them.

“But it’s cool to have a party to get baby boomers together with the younger generation,” he continued. “And people who sing in English like the Wainwrights. That’s a cool move. But we’ve never been a big fan of official celebrations like the 375th anniversary or St-Jean Baptiste or Canada Day. It’s not something we take part in usually.”

Four members of the McGarrigle/Wainwright clan will be on hand for the concert, including sisters Anna and Jane McGarrigle and their late sister Kate McGarrigle’s two oh-so-talented kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright. The line-up also includes stand-up comics Louis-José Houde, Gad Elmaleh, and Laurent Paquin, and singers Marie-Mai, Diane Dufresne, Ariane Moffatt, Boogat, and Kim Richardson. The house band will be local Stonesy rockers Les Porn Flakes and many songs will also feature the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

“There will be things on stage that you’ve never seen before,” promised Denoncourt.

Sisters Jane, left, and Anna McGarrigle pose for a photograph after talking about their memoir “Mountain City Girls” Toronto on Monday, November 9, 2015.Nathan Denette /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Denoncourt is particularly pumped about a disco medley that will pay homage to our city’s history as one of the disco capitals of North America in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. That will include Richardson singing MacArthur Park, in a nod to Donna Summer’s 1978 disco version of the 1968 hit. She will be accompanied by the Orchestre Métropolitain.

“It’s been a dream of mine to do MacArthur Park with an orchestra as it really should be done that way because that’s the way it was recorded,” said Richardson, who originally hails from Richmond Hill. “It’s a huge honour (to be in the show) for someone that comes from Ontario. I really don’t take this lightly. It means a lot to me. I’m very grateful for the opportunity. It’s a city that’s been very good to me.”

Denoncourt and Tout le monde en parle’s Guy A. Lepage, who will host the soirée, came up with the idea of creating a show to help celebrate Montreal’s birthday and Denoncourt said they really went with their personal coups de coeur.

“For example, Kim Richardson is my favourite singer,” said Denoncourt. “It was all about who we wanted to work with. It’s organic. It’s all about pleasure. And it’s about the Montreal of today. I like the idea of having the Dead Obies and Diane Dufresne on the same stage. To say: ‘This is Montreal’.”

Organizers announced that 500 tickets will be offered free of charge to victims of the flooding. To get a pair of tickets, you need to send a proof that you reside in one of the affected areas — like a driver’s license, electricity bill etc — to the address: billets@hahaha.com

Bonne Fête Montréal takes place at the Bell Centre Wednesday, May 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at evenko.ca.

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